Taking video games to task

PSYCHO/BIOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR HUMAN INTERACTIONS WITHIN VIDEO GAMES

Bowman · Cummings · Grizzard

Huskey · Lynch · Matthews · Weber

PANEL DESCRIPTION

The current panel explores the general utility of psycho/biological variables by reviewing relevant theories, hypothetical applications, and contemporary findings surrounding video game research. Often, media research relies heavily on social learning theories. Although useful, the explanatory power of nurture based models is limited. However, some psychological and/or biological perspectives provide a human-centric understanding of effects that accounts for individual differences and processing. Thus, the current panel illustrates how psycho/biological considerations may yield new understanding of existing relationships and illuminate fresh avenues for future work.

PROCESS > CONTENT

ResponseStimulus-Response models consider the

Content as key to media effects…

…but they fail to

consider the role

of Processing in

the media effects

equation.

Stimulus

Organism

PROCESS > CONTENT

Communication is a “process by

which we stimulate meaning in

the minds of others.”

(McCroskey & Richmond, 1996)

S O R

VIDEO games

• Narrative worlds

Video GAMES

• Ludic systems

Interaction Lab

(#ixlab)

Taking video game research to task

Bowman

VIDEO GAMES ARE DEMANDING

• Video games are inherently

unfinished texts requiring

players to exert agency

• “…in a video game, if somebody

is crying it’s likely because the

player both caused it and can

solve it.”

(Oliver et al., in press)

What happens next?

That’s up to you.

• Interactivity is Demanding

– Cognitively demanding

– Behaviorally demanding

– Affectively demanding

– Socially demanding?

LC4MPVIDEO GAMES ARE DEMANDING

COGNITIVE DEMAND

• In video game,

performance is based

on our ability to control

the interactivity (form +

content)

• One such control is our

cognitive abilities

(a few) cognitive skills

found to correlate w/

game performance:

2D mental rotation

3D mental rotation

Moving targeting

Fixed targeting

Eye-hand coordination

Fine motor skill

Word completion

COG + AFFECTIVE DEMAND

AFFECTIVE DEMAND

“Lugo: You’re f*cking kidding,

right? That’s white phosphorous!

Walker: Yeah I know what it is…

Lugo: You’ve seen what the sh*t

does! You know we can’t …

Adams: ...We might not have a

choice Lugo…

Lugo: There’s always a choice!”

AFFECTIVE DEMAND“When players recall

meaningful gaming

experiences, they

reported on how those

storylines helped them

feel a sense of

poignancy and

insightfulness as they

were able to relate to

the story content”

BEHAVIORAL DEMAND

BEHAVIORAL

DEMAND Training

Mission Roamingn = 57 n = 53

n = 110 (63 ♀)

Walkers relied on their dominant

habit, while non-walkers let the game

guide them!

SOCIAL DEMAND

• Gaming and sociability

– Games as “third spaces of discourse”

– Extraverts prefer gaming

– Gaming fosters relatedness

– Interdependence (from gaming) fosters transactive memory

SOCIAL DEMANDWhen playing in front of an audience, easy games became easier…

…but hard games didn’t change at all!

• Implications

VIDEO GAMES AND DEMANDING

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Nick Bowman, Ph.D. [CV]

Twitter (@bowmanspartan)

Skype (nicholasdbowman)

nicholas.bowman@mail.wvu.edu

http://comm.wvu.edu

/fs/research/lab

Interaction Lab

(#ixlab)